Partner Virgínia Quaresma
In 1912, Virginia Quaresma was invited to come to Brazil to cover the story of the femicide of Anita Levy by her husband, the well-known poet, João Barreto.[12] She moved to Rio de Janeiro with her partner, Maria da Cunha Zorro, for whom she also secured employment with the newspaper, A Época, which had hired her.[13] Quaresma not only reported the details of the crime, by following the police investigation and trial, but she framed the story in feminist terms, discussing the violence, Barreto's alcoholism and jealousy, and the lack of legal protection for women from violence. The case elevated her career and she became known as a crime reporter, though Barreto was acquitted.[14][15] Da Cunha's death on 10 January 1917, probably was the event which propelled Quaresma to return to Portugal,[13] where she rejoined A Capital.[4] She continued following the case of Barreto, publishing demands for justice for Levy. In 1921, he was retried and convicted. In an interview with Spain's ABC, Quaresma said she could not let the campaign go and needed to obtain justice for the victim.[15]
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